History of the School

Salvatorian College was founded in 1926 by Borthers of the Society of the Divine Saviour (the Salvatorians).

The Salvatorians had come to Harrow in 1901 and established a small parish dedicated to Saint Joseph the Worker. It was not until 1926 that the community was big enough to warrant the opening a school. A grammar school opened in September 1926 with thirteen boys and Fr Cuthbert Smith SDS as the first Headmaster. Shortly after, a prep department for boys aged 8–11 was opened as the number of boys grew. Under the tripartite system it attained 'Voluntary Aided' grammar school status in 1961. The prep department was closed that same year.

With the abolition of the tripartite system and Harrow Local Education Authority adopting the three-tier system, in 1979, the sixth form was closed and consolidated into the coeducational St Dominic's Sixth Form College, formerly a convent grammar school for girls run by the Dominican Sisters, while the College became a comprehensive school for boys aged 12 to 16. The entry age later became 11 when Harrow Council reverted to the two-tier system in line with other London boroughs.

The first lay Headmaster was appointed in 1981 and nowadays all teachers are lay staff. The school remains under the trusteeship of the Salvatorian Order, whose Provincial Office is located next to the school.

Salvatorian College became an Academy in 2012, gaining independence from the Local Authority. In September 2017, Salvatorian College entered into a partnership with the Cardinal Hume Academies Trust, a high performing consortium of Catholic Schools under the exective leadership of the highly regarded educator, Martin Tissot.

The school was successfull in bidding for funding under the Government's 'Priority Schools Building Programme' and is due to move into brand new £25m facilities in September 2019.

Despite the begining of this new chapter in the school's history, it remains dedicated to furthering the mission of Father Francis Jordan, the founder of the Salvatorian Order: "to bring all people to a knowledge and love of God and of Jesus Christ whom he sent" (John 17:3). Central to Francis Jordan’s philosophy was the power of education to transform lives and to empower people to achieve their ambitions. He regarded it essential, that people develop their skills and talents, to enable them to make a difference to their local communities.